RU2672602C2 - Extruded flakes and manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: food industry.SUBSTANCE: invention relates to the food industry, namely to food flakes, a dry food composition containing flakes, and a method for producing food flakes. Said flakes obtained by the method which does not include the flattening step have a porosity of 40–70 %, an average wall thickness of 100–180 mcm, a thickness of 0.5–2 mm, a length of 2–8 mm, and a liquid absorption coefficient of 80–200 g of liquid per 100 g of flakes. Said dried food composition is selected from a cereal product for infants, an adult cereal product, a dehydrated sauce, a dehydrated soup concentrate, a dehydrated dish, a reconstitutable beverage or a dehydrated pet food. To produce food flakes, the carbohydrate material is mixed in a single-screw or twin-screw extruder to form dough. Then, the dough is cooked in the extruder at a temperature in the range of 100–180 °C and with water content in the range of 5–30 %. After that, the extruded dough is cut into flakes directly at the dye outlet with a cutting frequency of 250–1000 Hz. Flakes are dried to a water content of 2–8 %. Wherein the method does not include the flattening step.EFFECT: food grain flakes absorb less liquid, do not break down in water or milk, form a different texture when soaked in water or milk.12 cl, 7 dwg, 5 tbl, 3 ex

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present description essentially relates to the production of cereal flakes with specific texture properties based on the correction of the physical properties of cereal flakes in the production process.

Cereals are a popular breakfast food and have been produced for several years. Cereals usually contain cereal grains such as corn, rice, wheat and oats, and may also contain sugars, salts, oils and other flavoring, coloring and preserving agents, vitamins and mineral fortifiers.

Cereal flakes can be produced in an extrusion process that combines mixing, heat treatment, grinding, shear processing and molding. As a rule, raw materials are fed into the cylinder of the extruder and screw conveyed raw materials along the cylinder are performed. The raw materials are heated, pressed and mixed to form a thermoplastic mass. Then the raw materials are extruded from the extruder barrel in the form of strands or threads that are cut into pellets. After that, the pellets are dried, flattened with a rolling roller and fried. Sometimes the frying process leads to a slight bloating of the flakes or curl of the flakes.

Alternatively, cereal flakes are produced in a roller drying process that combines the production of a liquid solution, heat treatment, drying and grinding. As a rule, raw materials are mixed in a container, fed to the surface of the roller for heat treatment and drying, the heat-treated sheet is disconnected from the roller, dried and ground to the desired particle size.

US 4,044,159 describes a ready-to-use extruded cereal product. In a single example, extruded flakes with a thickness of approximately 0.038 mm (approximately 0.015 inches) are proposed in this document, which are then transferred to a mill. Such a two-stage technology is known in the field of production of ground cereal flakes. Neither the structural properties of the flakes nor their properties upon dilution are described.

One of the problems of modern cereal flakes is that manufacturers must provide for additional process steps after extrusion to correct the physical properties of extruded cereal flakes in order to achieve specific texture profiles after breeding. For example, texture profiles can range from flakes immediately soaking when wet, to flakes that remain crispy after wetting.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present description provides improved cereal flakes and a method for their production. In one embodiment, the description provides for correlation of the structure of flakes (e.g., average cell size, average wall thickness and porosity) with physical (e.g., absorption of water or milk) and organoleptic (e.g., texture) dilution properties.

For example, in the description food flakes are proposed having a porosity of from 40% to 70%, an average wall thickness of 100 to 180 microns (μm), a thickness of 0.5 to 2 mm, a length of 2 to 8 mm, and a liquid absorption coefficient of 80 up to 200 g of liquid / 100 g of cereal.

In another embodiment, the flakes are based on a carbohydrate material.

In another embodiment, the flakes are obtained as a result of a cooking process by evaporation-cooled cooking extrusion. In another embodiment, the flakes are obtained as a result of a process that does not include a conditioning step. In another embodiment, the flakes are flat or curved.

In another embodiment, the flakes retain their shape from start to finish one minute after rehydration without stirring. In another embodiment, the flakes form a structured slice three minutes after rehydration. In another embodiment, the flakes can be diluted in water or milk at 65 ° C. in less than 5 minutes. In another embodiment, the flakes have a total diameter in the range of 2 mm to 8 mm.

The description also provides a dry food composition containing flakes as described above, wherein the food product is selected from a cereal product for baby food, a cereal product for adults, a dehydrated sauce, a dry soup concentrate, a dry dehydrated dish, a brewed beverage, or a dehydrated pet food .

The description also provides a method for producing food flakes, which comprises mixing carbohydrate material in a single screw or twin screw extruder to form a dough; heat treatment of the dough in an extruder at a temperature in the range from 100 ° C to 180 ° C and with a water content in the range from 5% to 30%; extrusion of dough through an extrusion die; cutting flake dough directly at the head exit with a cutting frequency in the range from 200 Hz to 3000 Hz; and drying the flakes to a water content of 2% to 8%.

In another embodiment, the method does not include a conditioning step.

In another embodiment, the method further comprises mixing the carbohydrate material with one or more of a non-cereal starch component, a protein component, a lipid component, a fortifying ingredient, and a flavoring ingredient.

Additional features and advantages are described in the following detailed description and presented in the figures, and they will be apparent after reading.

Brief Description of the Figures

In FIG. 1 shows X-ray tomography images of flattened flakes described in a comparative example. Scale: A. 8 × 8 mm; C. 8 × 4 mm.

In FIG. Figures 2 and 3 show X-ray tomography images of the direct-prepared flakes described in Example 1. Scale: A. 8 × 8 mm; C. 8 × 4 mm.

In FIG. 4 is a graph showing the average wall thickness (in microns (μm)) and the absorbed liquid (or liquid absorption coefficient) (in g water / 100 g dry flakes) for direct flakes with different formulations described in Example 2.

Detailed description

Prior to reading the description, it should be understood that the present description is not limited to the specific apparatuses, methods, compositions, and experimental conditions described. It should also be understood that the terminology used in this document is used only to describe specific embodiments and is not the only correct and limiting the scope of the present description, which may be limited only by the claims.

In the present description and the appended claims, the singular forms include the plural, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. As used herein, the term “approximately” is believed to refer to numbers in the numerical range. Moreover, it should be understood that all numerical ranges in this document include all integer or fractional numbers included in the range. The food compositions described herein may not contain any of the elements that are not specifically described herein. Therefore, the term “comprising” herein includes the terms “essentially consisting of” and “consisting of”.

The present description relates to cereal flakes and the production of cereal flakes with specific texture properties based on the correction of the physical properties of cereal flakes in the production process. As used herein, the term “cereal flakes” refers to a carbohydrate-based product having a porous structure and a delicate crisp texture due to the cutting and drying of the flakes. It should be understood that the apparatuses and methods of the present description can also be used for the production of similar foods, for example, other carbohydrate based foods, by the direct extrusion process. Although the present description is provided in relation to cereal flakes, the present description should not be limited to cereal flakes. For example, the term “cereal” does not have to be used in relation to a cereal product, but can be used in relation to other food products. The term "pellets" refers to extruded spheres not flattened by roller rollers, as described below. The term “flattened flakes” refers to extruded pellets flattened by rolling rollers, as described below. The term “direct flakes” refers to extruded products that are cut immediately at the exit of the extruder, as described below, and this means that the flakes are obtained in a single operation without further processing, such as flattening or further cutting of the extruded pellets. The term "dilution" refers to the addition of liquid to cereal flakes. The term "divorced" refers to the time during which the maximum absorption of water by cereal flakes is achieved. The term "porridge" refers to a smooth heterogeneous mixture with a granular texture. The term "porosity" refers to the ratio of the volume of voids (cells) to the total volume of the product in accordance with the explanations given in the "Methods" section. The term "average wall thickness" refers to the average pore thickness of pellets, rolled flakes and / or flakes of direct preparation, measured using x-ray tomography, in accordance with the explanations given in the section "Methods". The term “liquid absorption coefficient” refers to the amount of liquid that flakes can absorb, in accordance with the explanation given in the Methods section.

The food flakes according to the invention are derived from a carbohydrate material. For example, a dry or wet mixture of carbohydrate ingredients is obtained. For example, the carbohydrate material contains starch material, maltodextrin, monosaccharides, disaccharides and fibers. In a preferred embodiment, the carbohydrate material comprises whole grains. For example, carbohydrate cereal contains corn, oats, rice, barley, rye, wheat, sorghum, buckwheat, sweet potatoes, cassava, beans, peas, amaranth, and mixtures thereof, preferably in the form of flour. The mixture of ingredients usually contains 50-99% cereal flour, 0-50% sugar, 0.05-1.8% salt, 0-6% oil or fat, and 0 to 25% added water. Cereal flour can be a flour of corn, oats, rice, barley, rye, wheat, sorghum, buckwheat, sweet potatoes, cassava, beans, peas, amaranth, or combinations thereof. Sugar may be sucrose, invert syrup, fructose syrup, glucose syrup with various dextrose equivalents, maltodextrins with various dextrose equivalents, and combinations thereof. The mixture may also contain other possible ingredients, such as milk, milk powder, fruit powders, whole grain flour, cocoa powder, malt extract, bran (flour and / or slices), flavoring and / or coloring agents, disintegrating agents (usually in 0-1%), flour improvers, such as enzymes (typically 0-0.02%). The mixture of ingredients may also contain pieces of food material, for example, parts of nuts, nut paste, almonds, sugar, chocolate, as well as grain shells that may be present in sifted flour. The mixture can be obtained by initially mixing the powdered components to obtain a dry mixture. The dry mixture can be fed to the extruder-cooker as is, or it can be mixed with liquid or fluid components before being fed to the extruder. After the mixture of ingredients is fed into the extruder, it can be further mixed in the first mixing section of a conventional food extruder, especially a twin screw extruder. Water (and / or steam) and / or a sugar solution and / or a fat solution can be injected into the extruder. This operation is preferably performed at a low feed rate.

The direct flake preparation module includes an extruder barrel, an extrusion head, a disk extrusion knife, a cutting cage, and an engine. The mixture of ingredients is heat treated in an extruder. Extruder cookers are continuous-cycle machines that combine several separate operations (transportation, mixing, melting / heat treatment, inflation, molding) in one machine. The mixture of ingredients can be fed and heat treated in a twin or single screw extruder with a specific screw configuration. The heating elements are adjusted to provide a specific temperature profile. The heat treatment of the mixture can be carried out at a temperature of from 100 ° C to 180 ° C with a water content of 5% to 30% in subsequent sections of the extruder, where the mixture is heated, pressed and kneaded so as to form a thermoplastic past heat treatment. Under such conditions, the material melts due to a combination of mechanical friction against the screw and thermal energy supplied through the cylinder. Then the melt is transferred to the head, where it is subjected to pressing.

The thermoplastic mass can be extruded by forcing the extruder with a screw or double screw through the holes in the head at the end of the extruder. Since the head is the last obstacle at the exit of the extruder, it has a given geometry, which gives the product a certain shape. Forcing the thermoplastic mass through a narrow head can be followed by a rapid drop in pressure, which leads to rapid vaporization. As a result, the resulting product has a swollen, swollen appearance.

As the thermoplastic mass exits the extruder barrel through the extrusion head, the extrusion knife cuts it into flakes. In a preferred embodiment, the extrusion knife has a plurality of blades spaced at equal distances along the perimeter of the extrusion knife. During use, the extrusion knife is positioned so as to provide a minimum distance between the knife and the contact surface of the extrusion head at the end of the extruder barrel. When extruding a thermoplastic mass through an extrusion head, the engine rotates the extrusion knife in a plane of rotation parallel to the contact surface of the extrusion head, and the blades on the extrusion knife cut many flakes of direct preparation from the extruded mass protruding from the extrusion head.

A thermoplastic mass or dough is cut with a cutting frequency that depends on the speed of rotation of the extrusion knife and the number of blades on the extrusion knife. In embodiments of the invention, a cutting frequency of 200 Hz to 3,000 Hz can be achieved. The inventors have found that the frequency of cutting directly affects the structural and dilution properties of the extruded product. The specific structure of the flakes of the present invention is partially obtained due to the cutting frequency, which is from 200 Hz to 3000 Hz, preferably from 250 Hz to 1000 Hz, most preferably from 300 Hz to 1000 Hz or from 500 Hz to 1000 Hz. In another embodiment, the cutting frequency is in the range from 200 Hz to 800 Hz, preferably from 250 Hz to 800 Hz, most preferably from 300 Hz to 800 Hz or from 500 Hz to 800 Hz. The influence of cutting frequency was observed on many different recipes, as shown in the examples.

The knife and extrusion head are surrounded by a cutting cage attached to the direct flake preparation module. As the knife rotates and the direct-prepared flakes are cut from the head, the flakes fall down into the cutting cage and are collected in its lower part.

The conditions for the production of direct flakes made by the direct cooking method differ from the conditions for the production of flattened flakes. In a preferred embodiment, direct-prepared flakes can be made from a carbohydrate material mixed with one or more of a non-cereal starch component, a protein component, a lipid component, fortifying ingredients, and aromatic ingredients. Then the mixed raw materials are subjected to heat treatment in an extruder at a temperature of 100-180 ° C with a water content of 5-30%. After that, mixed raw materials can be directly cut from the extruder head with a cutting frequency in the range of 200-3000 Hz and dried to a water content of 2-8%. The cutting frequency can be selected as described above.

The extruded product is dried. The drying step can be carried out using an infrared (IR) heater or by drying with hot air. Typically, the product is placed on a wire mesh tape that passes through an IR dryer so that the product is irradiated from above and below the product. The drying step typically reduces the water content in the product from about 15% to a moisture content of about 1-6.5%. Typically, the prepared flakes are dried to a final residual water content of 2% to 8%. The cutting frequency can be selected as described above.

As shown in the test results described below, it was found that the desired physical (for example, the amount of milk absorbed) and organoleptic (texture) properties of cereal flakes after dilution can be obtained by controlling the structure of flakes made by the direct preparation method (for example, average wall thickness, porosity )

It has been found that the main structural features affecting fluid absorption are average wall thickness and porosity. The amount of liquid absorbed negatively correlates with the average wall thickness. At a given porosity, the amount of absorbed liquid increases with decreasing average wall thickness.

Preferably, the direct flakes have a porosity of 40-70%, more preferably 50-70%, an average wall thickness of 100-180 μm, more preferably 100-140 μm, a thickness of 0.5-2 mm, more preferably 0.8-1.6 mm, a length of 2-8 mm and a liquid absorption coefficient of 80-200 g of liquid / 100 g of flakes, more preferably 80-150 g of liquid / 100 g of flakes. Such direct-prepared flakes are particularly suitable for preparing textured drinks and beverages.

In a preferred embodiment, the main component of the direct-flake ingredient blend is a carbohydrate-based material.

The following non-limiting examples present scientific data that develop and support the concept of correlating the structure of cereal flakes (e.g., average wall thickness, porosity) with the physical (e.g., amount of milk absorbed) and organoleptic (texture) properties of cereal flakes after dilution. In particular, in these examples, the structure of cereal flakes obtained by the direct preparation method correlates with physical properties, for example, liquid absorption coefficient, and organoleptic properties of cereal flakes after dilution.

When diluted in water or milk without stirring, most of the flakes retain their shape from beginning to end. Since the structure of the flakes was not broken by flattening, it is believed that water enters the structure of the flakes, causing the flakes to swell, without significantly changing their shape from beginning to end. The cereal matrix is not destroyed by water. In other words, it remains possible to recognize the shape of the flakes after breeding. As a result, the flakes, retaining their shape from start to finish when diluted, give a specific texture and appearance to the diluted product, which is clearly different from homogeneous cereal or individual flakes, such as breakfast cereal.

In another embodiment, the flakes form a structured slice three minutes after rehydration. A structured piece is a piece that swells due to re-hydration, but does not melt or not collapse between the tongue and the sky. It retains some graininess and chewing, and this is an indicator of the preservation of the residual structure. In another embodiment, the flakes can be diluted in water or milk at 65 ° C. in less than 5 minutes.

Ways

Determination of the internal structure of flakes by X-ray computer microtomography and analysis of three-dimensional images

Obtaining cereal images

MicroCT, г. Контих, Бельгия) с пучком рентгеновских лучей 40 кВ и 100 мкА. Снимки получали при помощи программного обеспечения Skyscan (версия 1.5 (сборка 9)А (камера Hamamatsu 10 Мп), реконструкцию проводили с помощью программного обеспечения Skyscan recon (версия 1.6.3.0), а анализ трехмерных изображений проводили с помощью программного обеспечения CTAn (версия 1.10.1.3, 64-битная).X-ray tomographic images were obtained using the 1172 Skyscan MCT (

MicroCT, Kontich, Belgium) with an x-ray beam of 40 kV and 100 μA. Pictures were taken using Skyscan software (version 1.5 (build 9) A (Hamamatsu camera 10 MP), reconstruction was performed using Skyscan recon software (version 1.6.3.0), and 3D images were analyzed using CTAn software (version 1.10 .1.3, 64-bit).

Each flake particle was placed in an x-ray tomography chamber. To obtain an image with a pixel size of 5 μm, the camera resolution was set equal to 2000 × 1048 pixels and the samples were placed in the near position. The exposure time was 295 ms. Scanning was performed at an angle of 180 °, the rotation step was 0.4 °, and the personnel averaging was 10.

The reconstruction of the data set was carried out on average over 900 slices with contrast parameters of 0.008-0.35. For the parameters “smoothing” and “reduction of the ring artifact”, values 1 and 5 were set, respectively.

3D image analysis

Analysis of three-dimensional images was performed using reduced data sets of 10 μm per pixel over 450 slices. The analysis was carried out in two stages: (i) at the first stage, the analyzed flakes were isolated by excluding the external area surrounding the flakes; (ii) in a second step, floc porosity data was obtained.

(i) Isolation of particles, i.e. volume of interest

Segmented images in gradations of gray tones. Segmentation was performed according to a gray tone level of 30, after which the image was cleaned by removing all single spots of less than 2 pixels in size, and then expanded using mathematical morphology. The volume of interest was selected by the shrink-wrap function, after which this volume was washed out using mathematical morphology to correct the surface of the flakes. The expansion and erosion parameters were chosen so as to obtain the best correction of the particle surface.

(ii) Analysis of three-dimensional images

The images were reloaded and segmented by a gray tone level of 30. Then, porosity was determined as the ratio of the volume of voids in the flakes outside the volume of the flakes, the volume of flakes being equal to the volume of interest defined above (i). The separation of the structure made it possible to obtain a distribution of pore sizes in the flakes. The thickness of the structure made it possible to obtain a distribution of wall thickness.

Determination of liquid absorption by cereals when impregnated with liquid

The determination of the absorption coefficient of the liquid was carried out in the presence of excess water to ensure complete re-hydration of the flakes and to ensure that water in this measurement is not a limiting factor. A 40 g sample of the product was carefully placed in a 600 ml glass. 160 ml of distilled water was heated to 65 ° C in a microwave oven equipped with a temperature sensor. Then hot water was added to the flakes in a glass. The flakes were held under water with a piston for one minute. Thus, the total soaking time was one minute, after which the hydrated flakes or porridge was poured onto a sieve (mesh size 2 mm) to drain the remaining water. The drain time was two minutes and 30 seconds; after that, wet flakes were weighed. The amount of absorbed water in grams per 100 grams of dry product was obtained as follows: ((wet weight of cereal — dry weight of cereal) / (dry weight of cereal)) × 100. The experiment was carried out in duplicate; the resulting standard deviation was less than 3%.

Examples

Extrusion conditions

The flour composition, as shown in the examples below, is fed into a twin-screw extruder (Clextral Evolum 88) with the following configuration: L / D = 16 (length of the processing zone / outer diameter of the screws), and the total length of the screw and cylinder is 1408 mm. The screw configuration is shown in table 1.

Water is added to the second cylinder of the extruder until the water content in the dough inside the extruder is from 15 to 22%. The temperature profile during heat treatment of the dough is 20 ° C / 20 ° C / 80 ° C / 100 ° C / 120 ° C / 140 ° C in successive cylinders. At the extrusion head, the dough reaches a temperature of 140-150 ° C and a pressure of 3 MPa to 12 MPa (30-120 bar), which leads to instant evaporation of moisture and inflation of the extruded product. The extruded product is cut to obtain bloated extruded products with a moisture content of 9 to 12%.

Comparative Example: Flattened Flakes

Flakes were prepared using formulations A or B and the extrusion and cutting parameters described in Table 1 and Table 2.1.

The extruded product is cut into bloated balls. The swollen balls are transferred by a pneumatic conveyor to the rolling roller, where they are flattened using a pressure of 9 MPa to 10 MPa (90-100 bar), a roller clearance of 0.9 mm, and a roller temperature of 60 ° C.

Porosity, average wall thickness and liquid absorption were measured as described in the Methods section. Flattened pieces have a porosity of from about 30% to 36% and thick walls with an average wall thickness of 85 to 95 microns. The flakes were hydrated to 380 g / 100 g of the product, as shown in table 2.2.

In FIG. 1A is a transverse X-ray tomography view of three flattened extruded pieces, and FIG. 1B is a front view on an X-ray tomogram of one of these pieces. As can be seen from these images, there are cracks in the structure of the flattened pieces through which liquid can penetrate. They have a completely different internal morphology compared to the direct-prepared flakes shown, for example, in FIG. 2A and 2B, as will be seen in the examples below.

Example 1. Extruded flakes direct cooking

Direct flakes can be obtained using formulations E or F and the extrusion and cutting parameters described in table 1 and table 3.1.

The extruded product is cut into flakes. In FIG. Figures 2 and 3 show the transverse and frontal views of extruded flakes of direct preparation on x-ray tomography. Porosity, average wall thickness and liquid absorption were measured as described in the Methods section. Extruded flakes of direct preparation have a porosity of from about 47% to 65% and walls with an average wall thickness of 105 to 180 microns. They absorb 95 to 120 g of water per 100 g of product.

The porosity of direct flakes is greater than the porosity of flattened flakes. The average wall thickness of the flakes is larger than the average wall thickness of the rolled flakes. Thus, the absorption of liquid by direct-flakes is much less than the absorption of liquid by flattened flakes. However, after dilution in water or milk, direct-prepared flakes retain their shape from beginning to end and give the porridge some texture. They do not break down in water or milk, like rolled flakes.

A serving (e.g., 30 g to 50 g) of E or F flakes can be diluted in warm milk or water (e.g., 90 ml to 120 ml, e.g., at a temperature of 50 ° C to 65 ° C). After a few minutes without stirring, the flakes of direct cooking retain their shape from beginning to end and give the texture to the porridge. Some flakes can break down, while most flakes still look like swollen flakes.

Example 2. Extruded flakes of direct preparation

In FIG. 4 shows the average wall thickness (μm) of direct-prepared flakes made using different carbohydrate ingredients and their absorption of liquid. This graph shows the formulas E and F from Example 1. The diamonds indicate the formulation in which the main carbohydrate ingredients are corn, wheat and rice (recipe 1). Triangles indicate formulations in which the main carbohydrate ingredient is corn (formulation 2).

Flattened flakes have a lower porosity than direct-prepared flakes, as well as thicker walls. They absorb up to 380 g / 100 g of product. Due to flattening, there are cracks in their structure through which liquid can penetrate. They have a completely different internal morphology compared to direct flakes, which can be seen when comparing X-ray tomography of flattened flakes (Fig. 1) and direct flakes (Figs. 2 and 3).

Direct-cooked flakes do not have cracks, since the flaking stage is not used in their production. Their lower porosity and thicker walls in comparison with rolled flakes form a different texture when diluted in water or milk than with rolled flakes.

Example 3. Organoleptic tests of direct-prepared flakes Direct-prepared flakes were repeatedly evaluated by a group of 12 people trained to describe the organoleptic texture. These people were asked to rate organoleptic signs on a scale of 0 to 10 during a single test. The correlation between physical and structural parameters and organoleptic texture features was determined using Pearson's correlation coefficients and Minitab software.

The table below shows the statistical positive and negative correlations of the physical and structural parameters of direct flakes with organoleptic signs of the same direct flakes after dilution.

As shown in table 5, the average wall thickness in the flakes of direct preparation has a negative correlation with the absorption of liquid. Liquid absorption also correlates with organoleptic texture features of the diluted product.

Direct-prepared flakes having a high absorption of liquid have thin walls, high porosity and form a homogeneous and porridge-like product, such as homogeneous porridges.

Direct-prepared flakes having low liquid absorption have thicker walls, lower porosity and form more textured products.

Claims (18)

1. Food flakes having a porosity of 40 to 70%, an average wall thickness of 100 to 180 microns, a thickness of 0.5 to 2 mm, a length of 2 to 8 mm, a liquid absorption coefficient of 80 to 200 g of liquid / 100 g flakes that are obtained by a method that does not include the stage of conditioning. 2. Flakes according to claim 1, which are obtained on the basis of carbohydrate material. 3. Flakes according to claim 1, which are obtained in the process of cooking extrusion with cooling by evaporation. 4. Flakes according to claim 1, which are flat or curved. 5. Flakes according to claim 1, which retain their shape from beginning to end 1 minute after rehydration without stirring. 6. Flakes according to claim 1, which form structured pieces 3 minutes after rehydration. 7. Flakes according to claim 6, which can be diluted in water or milk at 65 ° C in less than 5 minutes, preferably in less than 2 minutes. 8. Flakes according to any one of paragraphs. 1-3, which have a total diameter of 2 to 8 mm. 9. Dry food composition containing flakes according to any one of paragraphs. 1-3, and the food composition is selected from a cereal product for baby food, a cereal product for adults, dehydrated sauce, dry soup concentrate, dry dehydrated dishes, a diluted drink or dehydrated pet food. 10. A method of producing food flakes according to any one of paragraphs. 1-8, including: mixing carbohydrate material in a single screw or twin screw extruder to form a dough; heat treatment of the dough in an extruder at a temperature in the range from 100 to 180 ° C and with a water content in the range from 5 to 30%; extrusion of dough through an extrusion die; cutting flake dough directly at the head exit with a cutting frequency in the range from 250 to 1000 Hz; and drying the flakes to a water content of 2 to 8%; and which does not include the conditioning stage. 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising mixing the carbohydrate material with one or more of a non-cereal starch component, a protein component, a lipid component, a fortifying ingredient, and a flavoring ingredient. 12. The method according to any one of paragraphs. 10 or 11, in which the cutting frequency is in the range from 300 to 800 Hz.

Images